Description

In the court of the King, everyone knows their place. But as the Artist wins hearts and egos with his ballads, uncomfortable truths emerge that shake the Kingdom to its core. Part surreal fable and part noir romance, this prize-winning novel from Yuri Herrera questions the price of keeping your integrity in a world ruled by patronage and power.

Publisher Review

'Herrera's metaphors grasp the freedom, and the alarming disorientation, of transition and translation.' Maya Jaggi, The Guardian----------'Short, suspenseful ... outlandish and heartbreaking.' John Williams, New York Times----------'Herrera packs his slim book with the sex, booze and nihilism of a better Simenon novella.' Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal----------'Yuri Herrera's tiny, beautiful novels each conjure myth and metaphor from a contemporary experience in a precise location, transformed by archaic-colloquial prose.' Lorna Scott-Fox, Times Literary Supplement----------'Playful, prophetic, unnerving books that deserve to be read several times.' Eileen Battersby, Irish Times-----------'Darkly satisfying.' James Lasdun, The Guardian----------'Yuri Herrera combines a dreamlike setting with vigorous style.' Anthony Cummins, Times Literary Supplement-----------'My favorite of the new Mexican writers.' John Powers, NPR Fresh Air-----------'The Transmigration of Bodies takes the conventions of gumshoe fiction and transfers them to a charnel-house world that makes nonsense of the genre s habitual moral opposites.' Bookforum----`Mesmerising & stunningly crafted 5!' Rebecca Choudhury, Waterstones Birmingham